Patrick Stump felt embarrassed when a flight attendant caught him listening to his own music.

The American rocker and his band Fall Out Boy have plenty of catchy tracks under their belts, such as song Uma Thurman from their latest album American Beauty/American Psycho.

But in stressful situations it's the iconic music from the sci-fi franchise that helps Patrick feel at ease.

"In moments of danger, I'll hum this to myself. It's so triumphant and marvellous, nothing bad is going to happen while that's playing. Everybody wins!" he grinned to Rock Sound magazine. "Especially when it gets to that big crescendo at the end, you're like, 'I'm going to win at like, I'm going to soar like an eagle!'"

Another theme from a movie that Patrick enjoys is Danny Elfman's score for 1989's Batman, starring Michael Keaton as the superhero. The musician says it was this symphony which made him want to get into the industry, as well as Prince's accompanying album to the feature.

Fall Out Boy does make the cut in Patrick's list of meaningful songs though, even if not in the best light. Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet, from the 2008 record Folie à Deux, is the star's most embarrassing song on his iPod.

"I rarely listen to our records, because it's a weird experience, and makes me feel like a dweeb," he reasoned. "I was on a flight the other day, and had a moment of, 'Oh, I'll give this a listen, see how it's holding up'." I don't get recognised a lot, but there I am, playing this song for the first time in years, and the flight attendant noticed."